Analysis: Arizona is 23rd most popular state for outdoor track

Just 1 percent of all college track & field athletes compete for schools in Arizona, federal data shows.

The analysis includes colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs report athletics data to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education. The latest data includes more than 2,000 schools reporting participation numbers for 2016.

Arizona schools reported having 232 college outdoor track & field players. In all, there are 20,436 competing for schools in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and District of Columbia.

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Most popular states for college outdoor track & field

State

Men

Women

Total Players

1

California

2,159

1,739

3,898

2

New York

1,030

876

1,906

3

Iowa

618

499

1,117

4

Pennsylvania

620

482

1,102

5

Wisconsin

437

461

898

6

Ohio

436

385

821

7

Massachusetts

455

353

808

8

Illinois

444

304

748

9

Oregon

380

318

698

10

Texas

326

271

597

11

Minnesota

232

311

543

12

Indiana

279

226

505

13

Michigan

242

257

499

14

New Jersey

263

217

480

15

Georgia

157

236

393

16

Tennessee

192

158

350

17

Virginia

177

147

324

18

Maryland

154

125

279

19

Washington

143

134

277

20

Missouri

118

130

248

21

Kansas

139

106

245

22

Kentucky

119

114

233

23

Arizona

156

76

232

24

Oklahoma

99

132

231

25

Maine

113

101

214

26

Florida

116

95

211

27

Vermont

110

101

211

28

Puerto Rico

123

83

206

29

Mississippi

120

80

200

30

North Carolina

91

105

196

31

West Virginia

113

74

187

32

Nebraska

103

83

186

33

South Carolina

98

85

183

34

Alabama

62

105

167

35

Washington D.C.

66

73

139

36

Rhode Island

50

78

128

37

Louisiana

57

62

119

38

New Hampshire

58

51

109

39

Colorado

23

54

77

40

Utah

0

67

67

41

Connecticut

27

39

66

42

Montana

28

29

57

43

Idaho

32

21

53

44

South Dakota

30

21

51

45

Alaska

28

20

48

46

North Dakota

26

20

46

47

Arkansas

28

17

45

48

Nevada

0

38

38

49

Delaware

0

0

0

50

Hawaii

0

0

0

51

New Mexico

0

0

0

52

Wyoming

0

0

0

Source: U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education